Get your superhero cape ready for Pima County library's mini comic-con

Just get in line behind Sailor Moon, Spider-Woman and Deadpool for the Pima County Public Library’s annual “MegaMania” Saturday, July 20, at the downtown campus of Pima Community College.

The event will cap the library’s summer learning program for kids and celebrate the exploding popularity of science fiction and fantasy across all age levels of popular fiction.

Doors will open at noon. Young space-travelers will return to their own dimensions at 5 p.m.

What is MegaMania, exactly?

“Think of it as a mini comic-con, an hors d’oeuvre-size comic-con,” said John Muñoz, who manages the El Pueblo branch and is a member of the event’s planning committee. “What makes it special is that we’ll have activities for all ages … and all of it is free.”

Paige Carlson, a Flowing Wells librarian who attended the event as a teen and is now one of its organizers, said MegaMania is perfect for young families.

“We’ll have parents who spend the entire day with their kids, and there will be families that scatter at the front door to do their own things,” Carlson predicted. “Either way, we’ll all have a chance to have fun and escape reality for a while.”

MegaMania is the last in a series of events that have been part of the library’s summer learning program since the school year ended in May.

They included “Zoo to You” at the Joyner-Green Valley branch, “Portable Planetarium” at the Eckstrom-Columbus branch, and “Bit Buckets Robotics and Coding” at the Wheeler Taft Abbett Branch in Marana.

All of these events connected to books that were on age-appropriate, interest-specific booklists that children selected in May.

The library’s goal, Muñoz said, was to encourage 20 minutes of reading a day, and show young people that reading – and learning – can be fun.

“The summer program is one of the best things we do,” he said. “All of our branches promote it and work on it, and a lot of kids really get into it. We’re hoping it helps prevent some of the ‘summer slide’ that teachers always talk about when schools start up again.”

The library has been hosting the midsummer event since 2011, when it was called Manga Mania and held at the Murphy-Wilmot branch.

When science fiction exploded into popular culture – with bestselling books, blockbuster movies and dozens of popular games – the library widened its focus.

Manga Mania became MegaMania in 2015, and organizers began moving toward the comic-con model that was proving so popular among teens and young adults.

The event was growing steadily until it was suspended due to COVID in 2020. After a three-year hiatus, MegaMania returned last summer.

“We weren’t sure how it would go after three years off, but people really seemed to miss it,” Carlson said. “A lot of the young people who were grade-schoolers in 2019 were teenagers last year, and it’s a whole different experience when you’re older. Our local cosplayers came, too. They loved it more than the kids. I think we realized that people who like comic-cons always want more. People who haven’t been to one like having a place where they can get a taste of what the big cons are all about.”

Last year’s MegaMania attracted 1,000 participants. This year?

“Call me crazy, but I think we’re going to see 1,500 next week,” Muñoz said. “People have been asking about it ever since last time.”

There will be no shortage of things to do.

Kids without costumes can get help making their own at “Cosplay Creation,” and then take part in the “Cosplay Showcase.”

There will be tabletop games and video games such as Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart.

This year’s MegaMania will have two escape rooms, one themed to Minecraft and the other to Pokemon. “Trapped” participants will interpret game-specific clues to break free.

Artists Ross Demma and Natalia Lopez will workshop sketch-making and crafts. Frank Powers will be there with his Comic Bookmobile.

The library’s current Writer in Residence, Elaine Powers – the author of children’s books such as “Don’t Make Me Rattle“ and “Dinosaurs Roamed Arizona!” – will discuss the art of writing picture books.

“We’ve all brought things we’ve liked at the big comic-cons to this,” Carlson said. “I go to the cons for the cosplay. Other people go for the games, or the escape rooms, or the workshops. The fun of it is tailoring all those things for a younger audience.”

By happy coincidence, MegaMania will serve as an appetizer for the Tucson Comic-Con, which will be Labor Day weekend at the Tucson Convention Center.

MegaMania will be held entirely indoors, in the main building at PCC’s downtown campus. Participants should park on the east side of the campus, in the lots along North Stone Avenue.

Captain America will point you to the door.

FOOTNOTES

The Tucson Festival of Books is now accepting submissions for its annual Literary Awards Writing Contest. Prizes of $1,000, $500 and $250 will be awarded the top three finishers in each of three categories: fiction, nonfiction and poetry. The deadline to enter is Oct. 31. To learn more, visit tucne.ws/tfoblit.

The University of Arizona Poetry Center’s next Summer Social will be Wednesday, July 17, at the Hotel Congress Century Room, 311 E. Congress. Three artists – a poet, a nonfiction writer and a dancer/choreographer – will reflect on the virtual mission to the moon they took in March. For more info, visit poetry.arizona.edu/calendar.

“True Biz“ by Sara Novic will be featured at the next Solutions Focused Book Club July 25 at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona. The program begins at 5:30. Info: tucne.ws/1qc3